Mark Begich

It was just in January when environmentalists were praising President Obama for setting aside nearly 10 million acres in the Arctic Ocean for protection from oil and gas development. Weeks before that, his administration announced he would not allow drilling in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, home to one of the world’s richest runs of wild salmon. Now, after his administration on Monday announced conditional approval for Shell Alaska to drill exploratory wells in parts of the Arctic, critics were quick to argue that the decision not only conflicts with the earlier moves, but it raises doubts about the president’s often-stated commitment to increasing renewable energy and...

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It was just in January when environmentalists were praising President Obama for setting aside nearly 10 million acres in the Arctic Ocean for protection from oil and gas development. Weeks before that, his administration announced he would not allow...

President Obama proposed designating 1.4 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as protected wilderness, drawing cheers from environmentalists but setting off a bitter new battle Sunday with the Republican-controlled Congress over oil and...

The U.S. Senate launched its first great debate of 2015 this week, on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta to the refineries of Texas. Predictably, the rhetoric was apocalyptic.“I think XL stands for extra...

In a boon to commercial fishermen, conservationists and Native Alaskans, President Obama on Tuesday withdrew the waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay from oil and gas development, vowing to protect the world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery.
Calling the region...

A novel unity ticket featuring independent Bill Walker and Democrat Byron Mallott has defeated Republican Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska in an election so excruciatingly close that its outcome was not known until 10 days after the polls closed.

One week after the midterm election, former Alaska Atty. Gen. Dan Sullivan won the state's costly, hard-fought U.S. Senate contest, giving Republicans an eight-seat gain nationally with one race still to be decided.
Sullivan was about 8,000 votes ahead...

Republican Dan Sullivan has won Alaska's U.S. Senate race, defeating incumbent Democrat Mark Begich, officials said.
Sullivan led Begich by about 8,100 votes on election night last week, and when state officials counted absentee and questioned ballots...

Facing a tough midterm election, Democrats put aside some of their remaining scruples about the new age of unlimited campaign spending and courted unions and hedge-fund billionaires for big checks to try to salvage a Senate majority.
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The U.S. Senate just got a lot more conservative. But its Democratic caucus just got a lot more liberal.
How’s that again?
The little-examined flip side to this week’s Republican victories is that they swept out many of the last remaining “blue dog”...

Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich trailed Republican challenger Dan Sullivan late Tuesday after a fierce campaign dominated by millions in spending by outside groups and Begich's determined efforts to distance himself from President Obama. But Begich...

One usually surefire way to gauge the political climate on election night is to follow the clock of poll closings across the nation, east to west.
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Whether on stage in crammed hotel ballrooms or crisscrossing tree-lined college campuses, a consistent presence on the campaign trail for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall has been his colleague Sen. Michael Bennet -- the man also in charge of...

Political junkies planning to stay up late on election night to see if Republicans take control of the Senate might want to rethink their plans -- it's quite possible we won't know for days or maybe weeks.
If Republicans have a really big night, the...

The local official introducing the candidate eventually got around to the point — Sen. Mark Begich, standing up for Alaskans, get out the vote — but first he lit into the Koch brothers and what he described as money's power to warp politics.
...

The simple question is at the top of many minds this grumpy election season, even among the 1,000 or so high school students gathered for a televised debate: "How will you work to reach across partisan lines to accomplish real goals?"
Incumbent...

A caucus of seven nervous Democratic senators, led by Mark Begich of Alaska, has been pushing a plan to "reform" the Affordable Care Act by allowing insurers to offer an even skimpier insurance plan than the skimpiest permitted now.
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“What day is it?”
“It's today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.
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Republicans hold a narrow, but steady, lead in the contest for control of the Senate, according to polls released Sunday.
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The woman was terrified her boyfriend would find her. He had beaten her up, torn her phone from the wall. He was after her. He had a gun.
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"I...